VANCOUVER – Following a four-game road trip, the UBC Thunderbirds (14-9, 6-3) return to Collings Field at Nobel Park for a weekend series with the College of Idaho Yotes (17-7, 8-0) beginning with a double-header on Friday, March 22 at 2:00 p.m.
 
"It is very exciting to host such a big series at home, with our friends, family and support staff there to cheer us on," said head coach Jennifer McKellar. "[This will be] our warmest home series yet, we're excited for that and playing under more ideal conditions on home soil."
 
Last weekend in Oregon, the blue and gold suffered an opening double-header defeat but rebounded on Saturday by winning both contests, 4-2 and 6-5, to split the road series. After crossing the home plate only once on Friday, the 'Birds relied on impressive offensive production to close out the series, generating 10 runs on 17 hits.


 
"We focused on building off of the 2-0 loss and how that was a really competitive game for us despite the loss," added McKellar when speaking about rallying back from Friday's results. "The girls really bought into having confidence, hitting good, pitching, and putting the pressure on their defense. We had a great game plan for their batters with Shae [Sever] in the circle in game one on Saturday, and she executed it very well. This gave us the chance to play loose and enjoy game four."
 
"We showed so much grit; our entire pitching staff contributed to that win, using all four pitchers. Our line-up had some key hitting and base running from top to bottom, and our defense did what it does best: stranded the opposing team's runners."
 
UBC's success against the dangerous Yotes batting order, spearheaded by Lolo Walker's notable 27 RBI, will depend on strong pitching from Carleen Murray (7-2) and Sever (3-1). Murray leads the team with 53 strikeouts and three shutouts, while Sever has recorded a 1.54 ERA through two complete games. Standout batting averages from Kaitlyn Kim (.405), Gabrielle Dorval (.357), and Keona Nordquist (.329) provide additional firepower for the 'Birds.


 
"College of Idaho always brings a lot of energy," concluded McKellar. "They are a well-coached team and consistently in the top 25. They have some power in their offense and always are aggressive with speed on the bases. Their pitching staff is young but seems to have found a way to win games. We will look forward to that challenge, especially coming off the EOU series, we are tested and proven against good pitching."
 
The T-Birds and Yotes are scheduled to start the series Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m., followed by a 4:00 p.m. rematch. The two teams then clash twice on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. (non-conference).